The Food and Drug Administration is launching a sweeping review of chemical preservatives in processed foods, including BHA—a substance also found in rubber and plastic. FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the agency’s focus is to align American standards more closely with Europe’s and protect children from harmful additives.
“About 4,600 processed foods in the U.S. contain BHA,” Makary explained. “It’s also used in rubber, plastic, and glue. The National Toxicology Program has said there’s reasonable anticipation that it’s carcinogenic.”
Beyond BHA, the FDA is scrutinizing BHT, commonly found in breakfast cereals and suspected of being a hormone disruptor, and azodicarbonamide, a chemical used to make yoga mats and shoes more elastic. “And it’s also found in bread,” Makary noted. “That just doesn’t make sense.”
These chemicals have long been banned in Europe, but they remain prevalent in the American food supply due to an FDA loophole known as GRAS—“generally recognized as safe.” The GRAS rule allowed companies to self-certify additives without substantial testing, a practice Makary said was originally intended for substances like salt but has been exploited over time.
“Companies used this loophole to insert chemicals into food, not because they added flavor or nutrition, but simply to extend shelf life,” he said. “Now that the science has caught up, we’re finding real health concerns.”
Makary emphasized that alternative preservatives exist that don’t increase production costs. “There’s no financial excuse not to replace these,” he said, urging manufacturers to act in good faith.
The FDA is also cracking down on misleading food labels, specifically those involving artificial dyes. New rules will clarify what claims like “no artificial dyes” actually mean. “In the past, companies using natural dyes couldn’t label their products as dye-free,” Makary said. “Now, that label will mean exactly what it says.”
The agency has already approved two new natural dyes as replacements for petroleum-based artificial colors. “That’s the direction we need to go,” Makary added, pointing to the growing demand among parents for transparency in food labeling.
With growing bipartisan concern over toxic additives in school lunches and supermarket staples, the FDA’s move could mark the beginning of a larger regulatory shift—one that prioritizes health over shelf life.
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